


Blind Love

by Pandar_Bear



Category: Underfell (AU Fandom), Underswap (AU Fandom), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Because there's a lot of fluff, Have I mentioned there's a lot of fluff?, Lots of skellies, Main character is blind, Multi, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Skellies for days, Surface timeline, Undertale Multiverses, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2019-10-30 11:03:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17827379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandar_Bear/pseuds/Pandar_Bear
Summary: A blind human spends most of her life attempting to be a successful musician despite her parent's wishes. When she finally does make it big, they try to make room in her life for themselves just to make some money. She goes to a local bar by the name of Grillby's in an attempt to relax from all the chaos that her parents brought with them. What she doesn't realize is that the bar is primarily a monster bar, and that's when she meets Sans. After that, her life is thrown for a loop as she befriends a large cast of different skeletons, and inevitably ends up moving in with them. (Slow update speeds as I can generally only update on school breaks.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9816140) by [Tyrant_Tortoise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrant_Tortoise/pseuds/Tyrant_Tortoise). 



> This is my attempt to tackle the multiverses with in Undertale and bring everyone their favorite skelebaes through it. This work is heavily inspired by Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady by Tyrant_Tortoise. If you haven't checked that out, I suggest you do because it's awesome. Constructive criticism is always welcomed, as are comments. I'll try to respond to as many as I can, and will update as often as I can. Without further ado, I genuinely hope you enjoy!

Darkness...

It's all Rose really ever knew. Not in some metaphorical manner but very literally. Ever since her birth, she had never been able to see anything; complete and utter blindness, a total eclipse. This caused her to develop a bit longer than most children. She couldn't really run like other children until she was about five, and that was only after extensive hands-on training from her father. She didn't learn how to properly write until she was around nine, but she found quickly she preferred typing, as most told her that her handwriting was completely illegible. Her father always told her that it was the best she could do, and it was something she couldn't help. Still, it felt draining feeling at such a disadvantage from the rest of the world. 

It didn't take long in her life until she began to pick up music. Music had an appeal to her that she had never really felt before. It was something that she could grasp without the use of eyes. Rose was never really great in school. In general, she would keep most of her grades at B level if she could. Her main passion throughout school was music, and it always managed to supersede the importance of her grades. She picked up new instruments with ease and enjoyed playing many different types, but her real passion was stringed instruments and pianos. She loved to sing along with her music. The only time she really felt grounded to the earth was when she played different melodies and sang along with them. At around age sixteen, she was deemed a protegee of music by many of her music teachers. She could play a large arrangement of different instruments at almost professional level and had won multiple awards for her talent. It felt like she had finally found her purpose in life, that was until her father died. After he died so suddenly, Rose's life began to take a slow spiral into chaos. He had always been the main supporter of her dreams. Her mother never really approved or disapproved. She just stayed in the background for most of her life, but once her father died, her mother began to voice her disapproval of Rose's life choices more and more often. 

Rose's mother insisted she get a job that can pay better money. She never believed Rose could support herself on a musician's income. Rose didn't ever think much of her mother's disapproval until her mother remarried. Her step-dad, Tom, voiced his opinion on her music even more than her mother. He would actively try to force her to search job options she never wanted, and he would take away her instruments whenever she did something to displease him. It didn't take long for his verbal abuse to pass into the realm of physical. He never hurt her too badly. At most, he would do something like slap her for back talking or lock her in her room for over twenty-four hours with nothing to do except school work. However, this often only caused her to allow her grades to dip into Ds and Cs just to spite him. Still, Rose didn't like to think back on it too much. 

Once she was 18, she took a full ride scholarship from her musical abilities and moved into a dorm far away from her mother and step-dad. During college was really the time of her life. She could play music all she wanted, and some smaller coffee places and bars were already requesting that she play and sing for them. 

After graduating from college with a Bachelor's degree in Music, she had already built up a large resume of different places that she would sing and play at quite regularly. It was about a year after college that the world suddenly went into a widespread panic. A new race that had deemed themselves as "Monsters" appeared from a hole in the side of Mt. Ebott, a mountain relatively close to the city that Rose lived in. They claimed that all they wanted was to live in peace with the humans and Rose didn't see any reason not to believe them. Regardless, as there always is, some people were adamantly against the monsters. They were convinced that the monsters were there to steal everyone's souls as silly as that sounded, and quickly there were multiple cities that were deemed anti-monster. Thankfully, Ebott City, the city Rose lived in, welcomed monsters with open arms. 

It was also by this time that Rose's music carrier really began to kick off. She was requested to sing at most bars in the city and received handsome checks from these gigs. It didn't take long for her mother and step-dad to hear wind of this and begin to try to "reconnect" with her...

_______________________________________________________________

Ring... Ring... Ring...

Rose lept up from her spot on the couch, and slowly worked toward her buzzing phone. She reached her arms out, careful not to bump into anything by accident on her way over because of her sightless eyes. Once she felt the slick countertop below her hands, she began to prob for her phone until her hands happened upon it. She had made a habit of instinctually answering her phone since it was normally her manager asking what clubs she wanted to sing at that month, and because of her blindness, she never really knew if it was someone that needed to be answered or just a telemarketer. Often times, it was just a telemarketer, but she always wanted to be sure. She clicked the side of the screen that she knew would answer it and held the device to her ear.

"Rose? Honey?" Rose stared ahead into the darkness of her vision trying to decipher who called her and was automatically naming her honey. She clicked her hands along the counter until a realization finally hit her.

"Mom? How'd you get my number?" She responded quietly. She hadn't talked to her mom since she was eighteen, moving out of her mother's house. She never dared to visit for holidays without invitation, and they never made a point to invite her. So, their connection to one another was quickly severed.

"Oh! Me and your father-"

"You mean Tom?" Rose cut her off quickly, refusing to recognize that brute as her father. Her mother paused a moment, and Rose swore she heard a sarcastic sigh come across the line.

"...Yes... Anyway, Tom and I happen to be in Ebott City, and we were wondering if you would want to meet up for lunch, so we did some searching and eventually found a number we could contact you through." That was a secretive answer if Rose ever heard one. Her mother paused a moment and Rose could hear a nervous sigh. "We just... We haven't talked in so long and I wanted to know if you're doing well. I know Tom treated you poorly, and we both just feel like we need to reconcile for how you were treated when you lived with us." In the end, a small sniffle sounded from her. She sounded genuinely concerned, which was more than what Rose could say about her when Rose lived with them. Maybe she really did just want to reconnect, and maybe Tom really did want to apologize. 

Rose paused for a minute with a feeling of victory resounding through her soul. This was it. This was her chance to turn her down and severe the connection forever. Her mother sounded genuinely apologetic, and Rose could finally tell her how horrible they both were and her mother might actually feel remorseful about it. 

But... When she went to speak about how horrible they both were, she couldn't seem to find her voice. She hated to admit it, but she really did hate how everything ended between them. There was no closure, and thinking back on her teenage self, she could feel a strong desire for a mother that actually seemed to care.

"... Yeah, I think I'd like that." Rose finally answered back after an eternity of silence.

"Really?!" Her mother squeaked up from the other side, obviously not expecting such an easy agreement.

"Mhm. If you are actually wanting to apologize, I'll listen. Where do you want to meet?" She questioned and began to filter through the list of better places to meet throughout the city.

"I'm not really sure... Tom and I haven't really gotten a chance to view the city yet, so we don't really know what's around." 

"Hmmm... How about this restaurant called Poppers. It's downtown, and they have really good food there. We can actually go there tonight if you'd like. This is the one day I leave open for myself every week." It was a Monday, which meant that this would probably be the slowest day anywhere she might normally sing. It allowed her a little break in between all her performances.

"Yeah! Yeah, that'll work." She sounded quite excited by the ease of the meeting. "We'll meet you there... Say, six?" She added in a question.

"That works for me," Rose answered back.

"Great! Great... We'll see you there, and I'd like to thank you for so being so open to talking to us after... Everything." Rose answered with a curt "Mhm" and promptly hung up.

"Ugh... Why'd I agree to that???" Since she was little, Rose had always been somewhat of a pushover. She knew that it was uncharacteristic of them to be so open to apologizing to her, and something tugged at the back of her mind telling her this wasn't normal, that they were planning something. She just wanted so badly to have some closure on the horrible relationship between them that she had given in too easily, but it was too late for those thoughts. After all, maybe they really did just want to apologize?

While in her own thoughts, she felt something soft brush against her leg, and give a small yap afterward. She knelt down to pet the fluff that touched her leg. It was her seeing eye dog, Mr. Chasekitties. "Hey, buddy." She responded to him. "You ready for an adventure tonight?" Rose questioned and felt an affectionate tongue brush across her hand. She stood back up and trotted toward her room to pick out clothes for the night with Mr. Chasekitties leading the way. 

Once in her closet, she began to brush her hand against all the different letters in braille as she tried to determine what would be best. Some musicians that she often played with had been quick to befriend her and had helped her with things that her blindness kept her from doing, like choosing matching outfits and labeling them within her closet. If nothing else, her blindness did allow her to have an extremely organized apartment. She eventually settled upon a dress in the category of "Casual Dresses," and placed it to the side to put on later. Now, all that was left was to sit back and wait. 

She felt around the couch in search of a remote for her TV and eventually found it hiding within the cushions. She clicked through channels until she heard the familiar voice of a famous monster, Mettaton, and decided to listen to his cooking show. An hour or two of laziness passed until she used text to speech on her phone to read out the time to her.

"It is 5'oclock." A robotic voice answered her. She made her way back to her room with the help of Mr. Chasekitties and put on the dress she had strewn across her bed. By the time she had the dress situated correctly, it was 5:10, meaning she should probably start towards Poppers. She grabbed the smartwatch that laid across her counter and navigated it until she was sure she had pulled up the GPS and input the address of Poppers. She felt a bit silly using a smartwatch, but she had to admit it was quite useful when it came to giving her directions. It was definitely easier than holding a phone out the entire time. She grabbed onto the handle that was situated on Mr.Chasekitties' back and allowed him to begin leading her out of the apartment.

After about thirty minuted of following the robotic voice of her watch's GPS, it instructed her that she had reached her destination. She checked the time, to which her watch responded, "5:40" in an equally robotic tone. She was a bit early, but she was fine with that. It meant she could choose the table, and go ahead and get situated. As she walked in, she couldn't see anyone for obvious reasons, but she could feel multiple sets of eyes tracking her movement. Almost immediately as she walked through the door, a server greeted her. 

"Hello, Rose! It's good to see you again. You're not scheduled to perform tonight are you?" The server, which she recognized as Joey by his voice, questioned in a friendly tone.

"Nah, having dinner with some people. Mind setting me up with a booth? Preferably in a corner somewhere?" Rose decided that the farther she could get from any watching eyes, the better. If something did start to go wrong, she didn't want everyone listening in on her personal business. 

"Of course! Follow me, it's actually pretty slow right now, so I can get you seated immediately." As he began to walk away, Rose gave Mr. Chasekitties the command "Follow," and he complied obediently by trailing behind Joey. Mr. Chasekitties promptly stopped when Rose assumed she reached the booth, and she reached an arm out until her palm made contact with a table. She sat down at the booth accompanying the table and felt Mr.Chasekitties lean against her leg as he took a rest as well. She pulled out her phone and navigated the apps on it until it eventually read out "Messages" to her. She selected the messages app and clicked into the most recent contact that was her mother. 

"I'm already here waiting at a booth. Tell the server to take you to Rose's booth when you get here." She spoke into the phone and waited until it fully recognized her voice and read the same message back out to her. She hit send and then sat back in wait. 

"Rose?!" Rose eventually heard called out, and someone barreled into her with a sweeping hug. "Oh my! You've grown so much! Look at how pretty you are now with your red hair." Eventually, the person Rose assumed to be her mother released her from the hug. She assumed she sat down across from her by the direction her voice came from.

"Hey," Rose answered back shortly, refusing to meet her enthusiasm. 

"Hey, kid. You look like you're doing well." A gruff voice responded from across the booth, which she recognized as Tom's.

"Yeah," Rose responded again with an equally curt answer.

The three of them small talked for a while until the waiter came to ask for their orders and eventually brought out their food. Rose noticed throughout the conversation that both of them were much friendlier than she remembered. Their voices were almost sickeningly sweet whenever they spoke. Once the food was out, Rose's mother's tone turned much softer as she spoke.

"So now onto the more serious part of this conversation... Tom and I want to both say sorry. We treated you so horribly, and we know it's inexcusable, but we hope there's just some way you can find a way to forgive us..." Once she finished speaking, Tom let out a gruff "Mhm" in agreement.

"... Honestly, I'm not sure if I can forgive you." Rose answered back unsure. "But... If you both are willing to give me some time, I'll think about it." She finally answered in an unsteady voice. She could tell by the sighs across the table that neither of them were pleased by this answer. Some sort of words began to come from Tom's lips, but he was quickly cut off by Rose's mother in a very chastising tone. 

"Yes... We understand." She responded sounding almost as if it was directed at Tom. The rest of the dinner went mostly fine if not admittedly a bit awkward. Eventually, both of them left after insisting to pay for the check. 

Once Rose had returned home with the assistance of Mr.Chasekitties, she plopped down on her bed in a fit of exhaustion. Admittedly, they seemed to have changed, almost suspiciously so, but it wasn't Rose's place to judge them. If they were genuine, they would show it in time and vice versa. 

_______________________________________________________________

The next few weeks were spent with Rose's mother and Tom occasionally coming into town and having dinner with Rose in an effort to reconnect. After about a month, Rose began to think they might have been serious and actually changed. They had insisted on paying every time they went out to dinner, and Rose was happy to let them. It was when Rose finally felt comfortable with them that her mother showed up at her apartment unexpectedly. 

A loud knock at the door startled Rose. She left her place in the kitchen where she was about to heat up a meal in the microwave and made her way to the door knowing how to easily traverse her apartment without Mr.Chasekitties help. Once she reached the door, she felt Mr. Chasekitties breath against her leg as he tentatively watched for whoever was at the door. She opened it and was met with a strong hug. 

"Uhh? Who is this?" She asked unsure of who just pulled her into a hug because of her lack of vision. 

"Oh, sorry hun'. It's Mom." She responded quietly, and she sounded like she had been crying for the past few hours. Something about her voice immediately set off red flags. Rose couldn't tell what, but she knew something was up. "Uhh... So I have something a bit awkward to ask of you..." 

Yeah, something was definitely wrong here. 

"What's wrong?" Rose responded cautiously.

"Tom got sent to jail for getting into a bar fight. He either stays there for a month, or I need to start a bail bond starting at 1,000 dollars. I... I would be able to pay it, but without him as my main source of income, I just don't have enough." She began to incessantly sniffle letting Rose know she was crying. "Could you please help? Just the 1,000 and we'll handle the rest! We can e-even p-pay you back!" She began to sound desperate. 

Rose should've figured it would eventually come to something like this... But, there was no way they could've planned this out, right? She wanted to think maybe that they really were just desperate, but her brain told her to not listen. She just couldn't stand it though. Even if they had treated her horribly, this was still the woman that raised her, and she couldn't just ignore that, could she? She knew she'd hate herself for it later, but she gave in. She hastily wrote a check and waited as her mother disappeared to go bail Tom out. After this occurrence, they progressively got worse.

They would come to Rose every so often begging for more money, claiming it was necessary, and they didn't have anyone else to turn to. Rose turned back to her teenage habits of just giving in to them. She couldn't figure out why she gave in... She was just too weak, like always. Rose even tried to tell them no at one point, but Tom retorted by asking how it would look for her professionally if she was in his words, "too greedy to help her own parents." She was becoming quite the figure in town, and she knew it would be bad for Tom to go around telling people about this, no matter how distorted his side of the story was, so she just continued to give in time and time again. Before long, they were running her wallet dry, and she was having to work twice as much as usual. She only had one day a month at this point where she wasn't at some bar singing late into the night. She decided to use this one day to go out and get completely sloshed at a nearby bar. She had actually never been to the bar before, as they had never requested her to sing, which left her feeling extremely curious on what type of bar it was. The name of the bar was Grillby's. 

She dressed in what was labeled in her closet as "Out on the town." Admittedly, she wasn't really sure why her friends that organized the closet had decided to get her some clothes labeled this since she wasn't normally the type to go out at night and drink often, but she wasn't one to complain. It only took about ten minutes of navigating with Mr. Chasekitties there to keep her from running out into traffic or any obstacles for her to reach the mysterious bar called Grillby's. As she opened the door, she heard the ambient chatter of nearby people. She began to step inside, but once she did, the chatter seemed to cease. She immediately felt as if she had done something wrong, and could feel all eyes on her even though she couldn't see them. She was used to feeling people watching her, but this was something else. The entire place was just suddenly silent. 

She awkwardly continued to walk inside, her curiosity revolving the bar filling her with the determination to continue. When Mr. Chasekitties stopped, she assumed she had reached the bar and felt out in front of her until she found an empty bar stool. She sat down and listened as the normal chatter of the bar began to slowly continue around her. It wasn't long until she felt an odd warmness journey in front of her. The warmness was reminiscent of a gentle fire and even seemed to crackle like one. 

"grillby is wondering what drink you want." A voice said gently beside her. The voice was a low baritone and rather pleasing to the ear. Rose clicked her finger across the counter of the bar curiously wondering why the mixologist behind the bar didn't ask her themselves.

"Uhh, honestly anything strong." After answering, an affirmative crackle seemed to signal the man behind the bar heard her, and the strange warmth that radiated from him disappeared as he traveled away to get ingredients. 

"so, not to be super direct, but i'm curious on whats brought a human into a monster bar. it's not every day we see a human wander in here alone." The man beside Rose questioned, and she tilted her head curiously at the question.

"A monster bar?" Rose questioned back, her voice laced with uncertainty. This seemed to throw the man beside her for a loop, as he could only seem to give a hesitant "hmm?" in response. After a few more moments of silence, he finally seemed to put two and two together.

"this question will probably sound like a _monstronsity_ , but can you... uhh... can you see?" He asked puzzled seemingly not trying to offend her. Rose cleared her throat nervously at the unexpected question. 

"No. Blind as a bat." She waved her hand in front of her eyes for emphasis. 

"ohhhh. that makes more sense. uhh, i wasn't trying to be rude, i swear. i was just curious." He answered back nervously.

"It's fine, really," Rose answered back with a gentle smile. "Honestly, I'm used to it. Why do you ask though, and what did you mean by a monster bar?" At this point, Rose could pretty much figure out what he meant by a monster bar, but she felt like she needed him to confirm it.

"well, i was mostly just curious on why you didn't seem startled when you first walked in. i mean that this is normally a bar that monsters come to. humans don't come here often, even less completely alone." Rose reached below her and pet her seeing eye dog's head.

"Hey, who said I was alone? I've got the fluffiest companion possible right here. Plus, I normally turn a _blind eye_ to matters of race. Everyone's the same in my eyes." He hesitated a moment which caused her to think he must not have caught the pun, but a second later he let out a hearty laugh.

"dang kid, that one was good. name's sans, sans the skeleton. nice to meet ya." Even though she couldn't see, she widened her blank eyes to his greeting.

"My name's Rose... Are you actually a skeleton?" She responded back curiously.

"shake my hand and you'll see." Obediently, Rose reached out her hand and met the self-proclaimed skeleton's hand. She squeezed it curiously as she shook it.

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTT...

Did he just? No, he couldn't have... "Was that a whoopie cushion?" Rose voiced her thoughts out loud, and Sans responded with a small laugh.

"old whoopie cushion in the hand trick; gets 'em every time." Rose found herself letting out a loud laugh in response to his practical joke as she felt a glass drink press against the hand she had rested on the counter. She noticed that the odd heat that emanated from the bartender had returned with the drink. Now she could make sense of the fire like sounds that came from him. She figured he must be some type of fire monster, which was an extremely weird thought, but it was the only one that seemed to make sense to her. Sans seemed to notice her curiosity, and answered, "grillbs is a fire elemental, meaning he's basically one big fireball that's shaped vaguely like a human. you wouldn't expect it, but he's _hot as hell._ " Sans punned at her, which elicited another laugh.

"Well, that must be some _sansational_ sight if he really is a fire elemental." Rose couldn't see it, but the skeleton's grin widened ear to ear.

"dang kid, are you trying to out pun me?" He retorted in a sly tone.

"Well, I wasn't before, but I'll be _boned_ if I let you beat me now." Rose paused as a moment of uncertainty showed through her expression. "You said you were a skeleton, right?" The skeleton gave an affirmative grunt while he laughed. While waiting for her new companion to finish laughing, Rose chugged down the drink set in front of her. Once she finished it, she let out a small cough from the burning sensation in her throat.

"woah, go easy on it kid. not trying to pry, but is there a reason you asked grillbs for 'anything strong'? you don't have to say. i'm just a bit of a _bonehead_ sometimes, and get nosey." Rose was fairly certain he said all that just to slip in the bonehead joke, but the drink was already affecting her and making her feel more loose-lipped than normal, so she figured why not.

"Yeah. Just a bit a mixture of money and family troubles." However, Rose didn't feel drunk enough to elaborate on it, and Sans didn't seem like he was going to force her to say anything more.

"that sucks. i know a thing or two about the family troubles. grillbs treat her to another drink on me." In response, Rose felt her empty glass taken away and returned another full one a moment later. She made quick work of downing that one as well.

"Thanks." She responded followed by a small hiccup. "Dang I'm too much of a lightweight." Rose slurred feeling her buzz already transitioning more into flat out drunk. A few more puns and drinks later, Rose was beginning to get really drunk. 

The rest of the night spun by in a blur, and the next thing she knew, she was waking up swaddled in a warm blanket. She began to stand but felt extreme nausea force her back onto where she had previously laid. She felt her surroundings and realized that she was in a living room and one that was not familiar to her at that. "Mr. Chasekitties?" She called out nervously, only to feel a wet tongue slide across her face in response. "Where the hell am I?" She mumbled and pet the dog that laid on the ground below in an attempt to calm her nervousness.

"oh, you awake?" An unfamiliar voice called out from a distance. It reminded her vaguely of Sans, but was slightly higher pitched. "you were pretty drunk last night. sans brought you back here cause he wasn't sure where you lived and you seemed in no condition to try to find your own way home." The voice explained, drawing closer as he spoke.

"Uhh, so where exactly is this?" Rose asked feeling a bit of the nervous tension in her relax, but she still wasn't too happy with the idea of waking up in some stranger's home.

"we're right outside of town, in ebott forest. name's stretch. by the way, from what i could hear last night, you are quite the skilled singer." Rose could hear the teasing tone in his voice, but it didn't stop her cheeks from heating up red. She could already tell this was going to be an interesting day.


	2. Meeting the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose gets to know some more skeles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowza, I haven't posted in a while... Please don't crucify me for this ;-;

Rose stared blankly ahead while her mind tried to process the new information. "So... Uhh... God, I got blackout drunk, Sans didn't know what to do with my stupid self, I sang somewhere in there, and now I'm crashing on a strangers couch outside of Ebott." She dead toned as she spoke, trying not to piss herself off. 

Stretch snickered at her before retorting, "mmmhm, that sounds 'bout right." She pinched her nose bridge as she realized the scenario she must have put sans and whoever else lives here through. Decidedly, she began to gather what meager items she had with her to prepare her departure.

"Oh god, that must've been so awkward for y'all. I'm so sorry! Let me just get an uber or something to come pick me up, and then I'll be out of your hair." She mumbled hurriedly.

"STRETCH! DID YOU TELL HER WE'RE MAKING BREAKFAST YET," a voice yelled out from somewhere.

 _God, can a voice get any louder?_ Her hangover headache came back in full throttle at the sheer volume the voice carried, and she winced slightly not wanting to seem rude to whoever was housing her.

"not yet, blue. i was gettin' there." Stretch responded at a much more acceptable volume. "as i'm sure yah just heard, you don't have to leave right away. you're a _loud_ to stay _hear_ for breakfast if you'd like." Rose cocked her eyebrow listening curiously to Stretch accent specific words.

 _Did he just? Ohmylordhedid!_ Her figure shook slightly as she eventually picked up on his puns and laughed. She gingerly sat up from her spot on the couch trying to avoid another wave of nausea, and more than less succeeded. "I really couldn't eat your food right after I might as well have forced myself into your house. I'm pretty _blind_ when it comes to manners, but even I know that's rude." She heard another snicker from across the room in response to her pun.

"nyeh, if it's not rude for me to laugh at a pun like that, then your perfectly fine to stay for breakfast. in fact, i think some of the guys were hoping to talk to you in a more lucid state." Rose cringed trying to imagine what she must've said to the poor residents of the house while she was drunk. "but, uh, if you need to get back, we're not gonna stop you or anything. just didn't want to _leave you in the dark_ about the offer of breakfast." As soon as Rose realized the pun was intentional, she practically toppled over laughing.

"You know, I make lots of jokes about my blindness, but I don't think anyone has ever had the guts to make them back!" She had to pause a moment to get over her laughing fit, but she was eventually about to compose herself again. "I wouldn't mind joining you and whoever else lives here for lunch, so long as it isn't any trouble."

"it's really not." He responded quickly.

Rose began to rise from her makeshift bed. Another wave of nausea threatened to take her back down, but she managed to tough it out. _Thank god for being young and having a better tolerance for hangovers!_ She thought on the bright side knowing her hangover could most definitely be worse.

"yah alright? not gonna need to run to the bathroom on me are, are yah?" Stretched asked from her side concerned. Rose jumped from the sudden closeness of him.

"Holy hell man! When did you come over to this side of the room?!" She squeaked out. Stretch apologetically shrugged his shoulders, and it took him longer than he'd like to admit to remember she could not see.

"sorry 'bout that. you just looked like you were gonna keel over, so i was just worried you were gonna fall." Stretched mumbled in an embarrassed tone.

"Huh, guess it's not a _Stretch_ to say you're a gentleman." Rose giggled to herself as she reached down and got a hold of Mr. Chasekitties leash. "Lead the way to food!" She called gallantly while striking a heroic pose.

Stretch couldn't help the laughing that overtook him. He normally did not feel this comfortable with strangers, especially humans, but this girl's spirit was contagious. This was all not to mention that her jokes were of the highest quality. "this way." He finally squeezed out between laughs. As he began to walk forward, it struck him she may not be able to follow, being blind and all, but when he looked back, the seeing-eye dog seemed to have understood to follow without any command. "i take it the dog's well trained?" Immediately after he asked, he could see her whole frame perk up. _She must like bragging about the dog,_ he thought to himself.

"Mhm! Mr. Chasekitties is very well trained! In public places, he normally needs a command to follow, but when there's only one other person, he just kinda reads the situation. He's a very good boy, aren't you Mr. Chasekitties?!" For the last part, she turned and addressed the dog adoringly with a scratch on the ear.

"his name is mr. chasekitties?" Stretch question with a muffled laugh, to which Rose gave an affirmative nod. If things continued like this, he really just might have to marry this woman.

The trio made their way towards the kitchen, and the moment they walked in, everyone in the kitchen took notice. Edge turned momentarily from his pan of cooking eggs to look over and sneer, presumably at the presence of a dog in his kitchen. Blue jumped up from his spot by a large plate of bacon and looked over with literal stars in his eyes. The only other person in the kitchen was Red, but only because Edge still insisted on waking him up early every morning. So, he was still half asleep.

Stretch lead Rose to the table and took his seat while she sat by him with Mr. Chasekitties in toe. "I'll be honest in saying that if I did meet any of y'all last night, I most certainly was too drunk to remember. Soooooo, why don't I reintroduce the sober me? Hi, I'm Rose. Nice to meet you, and thanks for letting me steal your couch for the night." Rose held the back of her head in a show of embarrassment while she talked.

"IT WAS NO PROBLEM! IT WAS QUITE FUN TO MEET YOU LAST NIGHT, AND... NOW MEET THE SOBER YOU?" Blue sounded confused at a reintroduction but excited none the less.

"SPEAK FOR YOUR SELF! IT WAS HORRID TO LISTEN TO HER BANSHEE SCREAMING THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SINGING, ESPECIALLY WHEN I HAD A CROSSWORD PUZZLE TO FOCUS ON!" Edge complained from his station at the stove. 

"Ouch, guess I should never mix singing with alcohol then," Rose responded bashfully.

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, EDGE? SHE SOUNDED LIKE A SIREN, NOT A BANSHEE. DID YOU MAYBE GET THEM CONFUSED?" Blue questioned while patting grease off the bacon with a paper towel.

"NYEH?! I MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT!" He yelled back. Meanwhile, Stretch and Rose listened to the duo banter with amusement; Rose only cringing every now and then at the volume they spoke at.

"Hate to interrupt the lover's spat, but any chance I could get your names?" Rose playfully asked the two.

"WE ARE MOST CERTAIN-" Edge began to practically screech, but Blue was quick enough to cut him off.

"I'M BLUE, AND THE ANGRY ONE IS EDGE!" Blue broke in with a cheery tone.

"and before you ask, doll, the hot skele sitting on your right is red." Red finally rose his head from his napping spot on the table to chime in. Rose practically fell out of her seat in shock.

"Gosh! Didn't realize there was someone else over here!" She held her hands to her chest in a feeble attempt to calm her racing heart.

"damn, i knew i was _shocking_ , but this is a whole next level reaction." He purred back, which earned him unhappy grunts from the more outgoing skeletons in the room. Rose giggled along with Stretch at the pun.

"I can't help but notice you said 'skele'... I'd hate to sound rude, but are you guys all skeletons?" She tilted her head curiously as she asked.

"THAT WE ARE!" A new voice announced itself from the door to the living room. "ALSO, I'M PAPYRUS, AND I BELIEVE YOU'VE ALREADY MET MY BROTHER SANS." Sans stumbled in behind his brother, sleepiness very much apparent all over his face.

"yo..." He greeted before taking a seat across from Red. An audible thump came from his direction as he laid his head on the table.

"I take it your not a morning person, Sans?" Rose asked in amusement.

"i'm as much a morning person as the sea is orange." He retorted before audibly snoring. 

_How did he fall asleep so fast?_ Rose questioned to herself, but laughed along with his joke.

"I THOUGHT SHE WAS BLIND. HOW DOES SHE UNDERSTAND THAT THE SEA IS NOT ORANGE?" Edge asked bluntly.

"EDGE YOU DON'T JUST ASK PEOPLE HOW THEIR BLINDNESS WORKS!" Blue chastised from across the counter.

"It's alright!" Rose appeased. "I may be blind, but I still know common knowledge things, like the ocean is blue, grass is green, and the sun is purple." She winked at the last part to show she wasn't serious, which earned a few laughs around the room.

"DID YOU HEAR THAT SANS? I KNEW THERE WERE JOKES OTHER THAN BONE PUNS! YOU COULD LEARN A THING OR TWO!" Papyrus called out Sans.

"nah, you know you'd get _bonely_ without my jokes. _tibia_ honest, i think bone puns aren't made enough." Sans punned back unapologetically.

"THAT WAS HORRIBLE!" Papyrus responded negatively, despite sounding amused.

"but you love it," Sans retorted without missing a beat.

"I DO NOT!" Papyrus outright laughed when he finished bantering with Sans. Rose couldn't help the smile that crossed her face at listening to the two brother's obvious affection for each other. Once the room settled into a comfortable silence, Rose took the chance to speak up.

"By the way, I'm not sure if my drunk self ever said so last night, but thanks for taking care of me. Most people wouldn't care to help out a random drunk chick at the bar, so I really appreciate you making sure I was safe." Rose twiddled her thumbs a bit awkwardly while directing her appreciation to Sans. 

"don't worry 'bout it, kid. you weren't in any condition to lead yourself home, and it wasn't much trouble just to set you up at the couch. plus, seemed everyone enjoyed your company." A few grunts of agreement sounded around the room.

"WELL, NOT ME!" Edge piped up, just in case Rose was not aware he didn't like her. Another bit of comfortable silence engulfed the room for some more time until Rose felt something warm and steamy pass in front of her. 

"BREAKFAST IS SERVED!" Papyrus announced in a cheerful manner. Rose listened to a few chairs being slid out from the table as everyone took their seat, and she dug into her own plate a moment later.

"Holy crap! This food is _egg_ cellent!" She emphasized her pun by holding up a fork full of scrambled eggs. 

"THANKYOU, BUT I'D APPRECIATE IF YOU DIDN'T USE PUNS TO DESCRIBE OUR COOKING!" Blue huffed in a distressing tone.

"Aww, and here I was hoping all skeletons loved puns." Rose looked to the ground with playful sadness.

"me, red, and stretch are the pun lovers here. be careful saying them around edge through, he might actually attack you if you make enough," Sans added in. Edge merely responded with a shrug.

"HE'S NOT WRONG." Edge confirmed.

"Noted." Rose suppressed a giggle. "So, I'm a bit curious. A lot of you sound like you have the same mannerism, and others sounds like you have practically the same voice, just with different mannerism. Are you all related?..." Rose could have slapped herself as she realized how offensive that could have sounded. "Or am I just being incredibly racist by assuming skeletons need to be related to sound alike?" Nervous glances were passed around the room unknown by Rose.

"... nah, you got the right idea, doll. some of us are brothers, and we're all cousins," Red answered back. 

"YES, RED AND I ARE BROTHERS, AS ARE SANS WITH PAPYRUS, AND BLUE WITH STRETCH RESPECTIVELY." Edge further explained between bites of food.

"Huh, I guess that makes sense," Rose responded. Her quick acceptance seemed to greatly calm the nervous tension in the air. An awkward pause seemed to settle in the room as conversation topics ran short, much thicker than the previous comfortable silence. It didn't take long for Rose to pick up on it and chime in again.

"So, I imagine I should get out of y'all's hair now-" Rose was cut off by Stretch's snickering.

"we're skeletons, no hair." He interrupted sporting a sly smile. Rose huffed in response.

"Oh please, you understand what I meant. Anyway, as I was saying before someone so rudely interrupted me, why don't some of us exchange numbers, and maybe I could make it up to you guys sometime?" On cue, Rose pulled out her phone and held it out for anyone to take, only for Red to push it back towards her.

"no need sweetheart. some others and i scooped the digits from you last night." He rolled his eyebrows flirtatiously at her and held a seductive smile. That was until Edge promptly smacked his head.

"SHE CAN'T EVEN SEE YOUR USELESS ADVANCES, DIMWIT." Red immediately cowered into the safety of his fluffy hood, which seemed to appease Edge. Rose couldn't help but unattractively snort at the humorous display.

"You guys are a riot. Well, guess I'll be out then, and by be out, I mean I'll be awkwardly standing on your porch until an uber arrives. Sorry about that." She blushed slightly in embarrassment for all the things she must've put them through already.

"ACTUALLY, PA- I MEAN STRETCH AND I WERE ABOUT TO HEAD INTO TOWN. WE COULD TAKE YOU WITH US AND DROP YOU OFF NEAR YOUR HOUSE IF THAT'S ALRIGHT." At Blue's offer, Stretch began to fidget nervously unknowingly to Rose, but he said nothing.

"I really couldn't impose myself on you guys any more than I already have." Rose tucked her hair behind her ear as a nervous habit while she spoke.

"IT WOULD BE NO TROUBLE! IT'S NOT IMPOSING IF WE ENJOY YOUR PRESENCE." 

"Damn Blue, you're smooth." Blue immediately lit up a color matching his name at the compliment. "Are you sure it's not any trouble?" Rose asked once more to ensure she wasn't being rude.

"ABSOLUTELY NONE!" He responded, the blue blush still obvious.

"I guess if you're okay with it, that'd be a lot easier for me." Rose settled with a pleased smile on her face.

"uhh, not to be a party pooper, but i was plannin' on taking a short cut. humans aren't always great with those, blue." Stretch finally spoke up with a nervous tinge to his voice. Confusion crossed Rose's face at his inquiry.

"OH, WELL... CHARA WAS FINE IN SHORTCUTS... SO, SHE MIGHT BE FINE?" Blue looked towards Rose with a questioning glance. Red and Sans cringed at the mention of Chara, but no one mentioned it.

"Uhh, not really sure what the stigma with these 'shortcuts' is, but so long as it's not a bother to you, I think I'll be alright." Rose spoke back up, confusion still laced thick in her voice.

"if yah say so." Stretch shrugged before standing from his chair. "guess we can head out now then. blue, you know the drill, and rose, just come grab around my waist and hold on tight."

"sounds hot," Red chimed in with a smirk but was quickly smacked by Edge again.

"Uhh, what exactly did you mean by a shortcut? I'm starting to think we're not talking about the same thing..." Rose pressed her eyebrows together and cocked her head in confusion.

"i think you humans call it teleporting," Stretch answered, still seemingly nervous.

"WAIT, WHAT?" A squeak escaped Rose as she jumped up from her chair and almost fell in the process. "YOU CAN TELEPORT?!" Varied snickers sounded from across the room in response to Rose's amazement.

"IF SHE WAS A DOG, HER TAIL WOULD BE WAGGING!" Papyrus cooed in amusement. 

"I think you guys are too calm about this! For the mother of cheese, this man is saying he can teleport! I mean, I'm sure this isn't news to you guys, as you must already know, but holy hell!" Mr. Chasekitties seemed to finally notice Rose's sudden excitement, and he brushed against her leg reassuringly.

"yup, but i forgot you had your dog with you. it's probably best if i take two trips then. i'll be back for you two in a second." Stretch uncertainly scratched his head before disappearing with Blue.

"Huh, is... Is he gone?" Rose listened carefully for any sign that Stretch was still in the room, but after a moment, found nothing.

"yeah, he should be back in a second." Sans commented from his spot beside the table. 

"That's kind of disappointing I was expecting some shockwave or generally anything more dramatic." As if on cue, Stretch reappeared right beside Rose, earning a warning bark from Mr. Chasekitties.

"sorry, pup." The edges of Stretch's mouth twitched up in a smile. "welp, i'll have to pick up mr. chasekitties, and you'll have to grab around my waist. no matter what, do not let go until i say so." Stretch warned while carefully hefting the large lump of fur into his arms.

"Are you sure you can carry Mr. Chasekitties? He's pretty heavy. I should know, I've woken up to him sitting on top of me many times before. He's kind of an attention hog when he's bored." She reminisced before grabbing unsurely around Stretch's waist.

"you'll have to grab tighter than that." As directed, Rose tightened her arms with a warm blush settling across her cheeks. She felt a slight change in pressure around her and another wave of nausea hit her. Her knees buckled out from under her, but an arm secured itself around her. "you can let go," Stretch informed her as Blue attempted to keep her upright.

"OH MY, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Blue questioned as he held her up. Stretch placed Mr. Chasekitties onto the ground and moved to make sure Rose was okay.

"knew she probably wouldn't take it well. 'specially with a hangover." Stretch watched her sympathetically as Blue eventually detached himself from her when she found her own balance.

"I'm alright. That was just a bit unpleasant..." Rose ran her hand through her hair as she regained her composure. Mr. Chasekitties stood against her leg while he repeatedly gave her worried glances. "Okay, so where in the city are we? I can probably find my way back now."

"we're on chaser street, but me and blue are game for taking you all the way back at this point." Stretch reached down and patted Mr. Chasekitties to help calm him.

"Oh, y'all don't have to. My apartment is one street down from here." 

"REALLY, IT'D BE NO PROBLEM!" Blue rolled back and forth on his heels as he spoke.

"Man, you guys are way too nice, but if you want to, sure." Blue seemed to perk up even further at her agreement. "Alrighty, I live in Ebott's Elite. Mr. Chasekitties might know the way back from here." At the mention of his name, he excitedly paced around the group while awaiting any type of order. "Home," Rose ordered while grabbing a hold of his leash. In response, he turned and decisively starting walking away slow enough for others to follow.

"WOWIE! HE'S SO SMART!" Blue's eyes lit up with stars as they all followed the dog down the street. 

After a few minutes at a comfortable pace, Mr. Chasekitties stopped and barked back to the group. "We must be here." Rose commented reaching to feel for a door. At first, her hands brushed against the bricks of the building, but a moment later, someone's hand closed over hers and moved it to a handle. Rose's cheeks lit up red at the sudden close proximity. She didn't realize before, but based on how much bigger his hand was compared to hers, Stretch had to be one massive guy. 

"just looked like you could use a little help..." Stretch remarked awkwardly as he removed his hand from hers.

"Appreciated!" She responded with a kind smile and pushed open the door. "You guys are free to come to my apartment, but I do have to get ready for a show tonight. So I won't be the most attentive host." Rose waited at the door for their response.

"OH, THAT'S FINE. WE HAVE SOME ERRANDS TO RUN, BUT IF YOU DON'T MIND ME ASKING, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY YOU HAVE A SHOW TONIGHT?" Blue asked while curiously cocking his head.

"I'm a performer for a lot of bars around Ebott. I normally sing, but sometimes I play instruments too." Rose lowered her head bashfully.

"THAT'S WHY YOU WERE SUCH A GOOD SINGER! WHERE ARE YOU PERFORMING TONIGHT?! MAYBE WE CAN COME TO WATCH YOU!" Blue practically vibrated with excitement as he tried to devise ways in his mind to get everyone to come.

"I'll be at Lollies. It's down on King Drive." Blue looked towards Stretch pleadingly while she spoke.

"WE SHOULD GO! WE HAVEN'T ALL BEEN OUT SOMEWHERE TOGETHER IN FOREVER. IT'D BE A GREAT BONDING EXPIERANCE. MAYBE WE COULD EVEN INVITE BLACK AND RUS? I HAVEN'T TALKED TO EITHER OF THEM IN A WHILE." Blue pressed his hand to his chin in consideration.

"uhh that may not be the best idea, blue. those guys are a little..." He winced as he struggled to find the right words. "well they're a lot."

"Pfft, they're a little a lot?" Rose asked with a charmed grin.

"YOU AREN'T WRONG, BUT WE'LL SEE I GUESS. HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE YOU AT... WHAT TIME DO YOU PERFORM?" Rose tilted her head while she thought.

"I'm pretty sure it's at 7:00. I'll see you there if you come." Rose smirked when she realized her own wording. "Well I won't see you, but you get what I mean." She added sarcastically. 

Blue and Stretch said their goodbyes while Rose made her way inside. Once she reached her apartment, she began to clean it up and get ready for later that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How many kitties could a chasekitties chase if a chasekitties could chase cats?


	3. The Performace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You couldn't have guessed it based off the chapter name, but this one follows Rose's performance at Lollie's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, hope you guys enjoy another chapter that didn't take half a year to post.  
> Also, I don't even know if this really needs to be a warning, but there is some mild cussing this chapter.

After finishing up on some late spring cleaning, Rose next had to decide what outfit she was going to be wearing. She always tried to choose her clothing sooner rather than later in case her makeup took too long, or she didn't eat lunch fast enough. 

As she stepped into her closet, she reached her hand out and felt smooth velvet graze against it. She personally loved her velvet dress collection the most, only because it all felt so soft, but Lollie's wasn't exactly upscale enough for such dresses. 

Lollie's was a sort of hole in the wall bar, but surprisingly popular for its lower-class presentation. It was a common bar for college kids to go meet up at. It wasn't very expensive but still had quality drinks, and the musicians they had on retainer were good too, not to brag on herself. They even paid her much better than some other bars; including the upscale ones. It wasn't a stretch to say that Lollie's was definitely one of her favorite gigs.

Realizing she had gotten lost in thought, Rose began to feel the braille that was printed and taped onto every hanger in the closet. The braille organized her clothes into formal, semi-formal, casual, and loungewear; all of which had been organized by some friends when she first moved in. Now, she only had to monotonously organize clothes whenever she took them off, and she was basically self-sufficient! For gigs like this, she most commonly chose from her semi-formal collection. She ended up pulling out a dress that was composed of a blue, button-up top with shoulder-length sleeves and a white skirt made up of white sheer material with many layers to keep it from being see-through. Then, the two different sections were divided by a wide leather belt. She had, obviously, never seen the outfit herself, but many of her friends had told her it was cute whenever she wore it. Deciding that outfit would work, she took off to the kitchen to get her lunch.

She was still rather full from the breakfast Blue, Edge and Papyrus had prepared, so she knew a smaller lunch would be fine. She thought through making something fresh and healthy, but that took a lot of effort; not to mention being blind and all that jazz made it ten times worse. After some deliberating, she grabbed a random frozen meal out of her fridge and put it in the microwave.

"Now the hard part..." She sighed to herself. Whenever she had these microwave meals, she always had to play a game she liked to call, "Guess that Warm-Up Time!" There had been so many times in her life where she thought she cooked something thoroughly, only to take a bite of something freezing. Those were not pleasant memories. She ended up feeling her hand along with the microwave's buttons until she read three in braille and decided that would be long enough for the first attempt. After sitting around for the appropriate time, the meal dinged and the temperature was deemed good enough by her. She set it at the table and began to eat. Meanwhile, Mr. Chasekitties rubbed his nose against her legs hoping for scraps.

"Not happening. Sorry buddy, but I know just as well as you that you got some chubbs going on. Honestly, it's a miracle Stretch actually picked you up without snapping his spinal cord or something." Rose continued to eat as her dog rubbed against her. After a minute in silence, her mind began to drift back to the skeletons she had met. 

Thinking back on it, she realized how stupid she had been to, first off, get blackout drunk at some random bar and, second off, lead practical strangers to her almost exact address. What would she have done if they were malicious in any way and not all the complete cinnamon rolls they were? If the scenario had been with practically any other random joe taking her home from a bar, the situation could have ended so vastly different. "Huh, guess Sans is like my guardian angel or something then." She thought to herself out loud. "Hehe, _San_ gel." The pun popped into her mind like some gift of God. She might just have to save that one for later.

After finishing her food, she took a quick shower and began to straighten her hair for the show. Once that was done, she grabbed her makeup bag and placed it by the door for when she left. She never put on makeup before she got to shows, as she learned pretty quickly that you need to be able to see makeup to apply it correctly. So, she'd normally get one of the musicians that played with her to do it, and that was only if she put on any at all. It was never much, normally just the slightest amount of blush to keep her from looking washed out under stage lights. 

Once she decided she was done gathering and preparing things, she slipped on the dress and grabbed a pair of nude pumps from the shoe section of her closet. She had a few different pairs of shoes that all had their respective labels of, "Nude Pumps," "Black Flats," or etcetera, but she most often wore the nude pumps since they matched most dresses, as she had been told. It didn't take long before she was completely ready to head out, and the time was only six o'clock. This way, she could be to the bar by six fifteen-ish and be set up and ready to roll at six-thirty. Being the singer of the band she was with tonight, she wouldn't have to warm up much other than a few basic vocals, but she always arrived at the same time as the rest of the band just to be polite. 

Makeup bag in purse, GPS set up, and leash in hand, Rose and Mr. Chasekitties set out of the apartment together on their way to Lollie's. On the walk there, her watch dinged with the notification sound for a new message, and she planned to check it later. That plan stood until it dinged a third, a fourth, a fifth, and sixth time. _Who the hell is trying so hard to get in contact with me? I swear to god if it's Mom asking for more money, she can shut her lid for one night..._ Rose thought bitterly to herself not noticing the way her own face fell into a grimace at the notion. 

Unsurely, she brought out her phone and earbuds to listen to the messages of whoever was spamming her. When she clicked into the messaging app, it took a little confusion before she realized it wasn't one, but six different people who all texted her consecutively. She listened intently as the text to speech program on her phone read out the first one that she received. 

"hey, it's sans. blue told us about your performance and just wanted to say i can't wait to see you tonight. also, thought i'd warn you that your number made its way around the house and now there's a likely chance everyone's gonna start texting you. parenthesis semicolon." Rose's face distorted into confusion before she realized he must have sent her a winking face, but the text to speech program just read it plainly. _Well, that solves the mysterious spam texts._ She mused to herself. Knowing their origin now, she decided she could just wait and text everyone back once she was more situated at the bar. Texting while walking was often problematic for her, even more so than the average person.

It was around six-fifteen when she arrived, like predicted, and once she stepped inside, someone almost immediately pulled her into a firm hug. "My favorite shorty Rose is here!" A masculine voice spoke out excited, who Rose recognized as Henry. He was the lead guitarist of the band she most often sang with and was uncoincidentally the band she was singing with tonight. They were called the King's Jester. Rose most often would play an instrument and sing alone, but on occasion, she would collaborate with other local bands and artists as a way to draw in larger crowds. Tonight was a Saturday night, which meant bars would be competing for college students looking to let loose a little after a long week. She figured Lollie's must be trying to pull in more than its competitors through live performers, such as herself and Henry's band.

"Heya! Great to see you too. Easy on me though, I'm still a little rough around the edges from a nasty hangover this morning." Rose sighed quietly as Henry pulled away from her all too fast. She couldn't see people she talked to, and this ended up causing her to crave physical touch more than most. She knew it was a bit odd, but the heart wants what it wants. It turns out that her heart just wanted plenty of hugs.

"Oof, that sounds rough. You good to perform tonight?" He asked, concern laced in his voice.

"Yes, mother hen. " She responded in a spirited manner.

"That's good. The guys and I haven't gotten to perform with you in what feels like forever. We were missing our little flower." Henry cooed as he pulled Rose into another short hug. 

"Awe, you guys should just tell me that you want to work together more often. You know I couldn't turn your sappy selves down." Rose smiled brightly while Henry walked her up to the stage. She sat down at her usual spot by the mic that had a bar stool moved next to it for her to sit on. 

"So what were you wanting to sing tonight, Rosey? The regular or did you finally want to switch it up a little?" One of the other members of The King's Jester, named Jacob, questioned with a playful tone.

"I'm a woman of habit. You already know this. Plus, the regular just so happens to be what Lollie's approved for us to sing." She scrunched up her nose giving him a mock annoyed grimace. She did basic warm-ups with the band until around six forty-five when she remembered she should text back all her favorite skeletons. She listened through the messages, most of which were just saying hi or saying they looked forward to the show. Well most except Edge and Red. Edge had to include that he wasn't interested in listening to her banshee screaming another night. He was only being dragged along by the others. And well Red, he just seemed like he was only interested flirting since his message read, "is your body from mcdonald's? cause i'm lovin' it." To be honest, she thought his pick up line was funny, but it'd be a cold day in hell before she'd ever admit to that. Guess she shouldn't have expected anything more based on her previous interactions with him though. 

While the majority of the band warmed up, the drummer of it, a girl named Lila, worked on Rose's makeup for her. Right about the time Lila finished, Rose heard a shout from across the bar, "ROSE! ROSE! LOOK, I GOT EVERYONE TO COME, JUST AS I SAID! WELL, THAT'S EXCLUDING BLACK AND RUS. THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T MAKE IT TONIGHT." Rose would recognize that cute cinnamon roll's voice anywhere.

"Awe, that's so sweet of you, Blue! It's fine they couldn't come, especially since I'm not really sure who they are. I just really hope y'all aren't going to out of your way just to see me perform." These guys were all so sweet that it left her feeling like she was taking advantage of them whenever they acted nice.

"s'no problemo, doll. i'd love to hear you singing at anywhere, preferably between my shee-" A loud thwump sounded from Red's direction.

"OH MY FUCKING HELL, RED. LEARN TO HAVE A FILTER!" Rose figured Edge must've heard Red and decided to take action, which she wasn't exactly ungrateful for.

"These guys your buddies?" Henry asked curiously while he warmed up for the performance.

"Mhm! Met them recently, but they seem to get attached quickly. Not that I mind, though. They all seem like big sweets hearts if you ask me." Rose smiled widely as she talked about the new friends she found in the skeletons.

"Must be cool guys then." Henry responded sounding amused, and a moment later, he spoke back up again. Only this time, he was addressing the whole band. "Well, it's about seven. Is everyone prepped and ready to go?" Rose gave her own little thumbs-up as she stood back up from her stool to sing. "Alright, sounds good."

Henry grabbed the mic that stood tall in front of him and addressed the audience. "Hey everyone! I'm Henry, the lead guitarist of the King's Jester. I know we play for you often, but tonight we've got a little addition to our band. Tonight, Ms. Rose Archer will be taking over as our main vocalist! Please sit back and enjoy while we play the first song, [Ironic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc)." At the cue, the drummer did a short intro beat into the song.

"An old man turned ninety-eight...  
He won the lottery and died the next day  
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay  
It's a death rows pardon two minutes too late  
Isn't it ironic, dont you think?" 

As Rose sang, she slowly walked back and forth on the stage in between pauses with the mic in hand, but once the chorus started up, she pressed her back against Henry's and sang it with him as the backup vocalist. 

"It's like rain on your wedding day  
It's a free ride when you've already paid  
It's the good advice that you just didn't take  
Who would've thought, it figures."

After the chorus finished, Rose stepped away from Henry and once more walked towards the end of the stage. She didn't get too close in fear of tripping though.

"Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly  
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids good-bye  
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight  
And as the plane crashed down he thought  
'Well, isn't this nice.'  
And isn't it ironic, don't you think?"

She held the microphone gently in her hands as she sang out the next verse while keeping her gaze locked straight in front of her, but when the chorus came back up again, she placed the microphone back into its stand as she held the pole of it to sing the chorus again.

"It's like rain on your wedding day  
It's a free ride when you've already paid  
It's the good advice that you just didn't take  
Who would've thought, it figures."

Once the next verse came up, she removed the mic from its stand again, and she sat back onto the wooden stool placed on the stage.

"A traffic jam when you're already late  
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break  
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife  
It's meeting the man of my dreams  
And then meeting his beautiful wife  
And isn't it ironic, don't you think  
A little too ironic, and yeah I really do think."

As she approached the final chorus, she stood back up, and this time Henry walked over to her. He pressed his back against hers as they sang the final chorus as a duet.

"It's like rain on your wedding day  
It's a free ride when you've already paid  
It's the good advice that you just didn't take  
Who would've thought, it figures."

As the chorus ended, Henry turned and gave the rest of the band the cue to cut off their instruments, which left Rose to finish the song without music behind her.

"Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you  
And life has a funny way of helping you out  
Helping you out."

When she finished the song, she placed the microphone back into its stand. A wave of applause echoed out from the people in various sections of the crowded bar while Rose bashfully turned her head to the ground.

"Alright, folks! The King's Jester will be back to perform another song in about fifteen minutes with more voice accompaniment by Ms. Rose Archer!" Henry dismissed the band to go on break, and Rose grabbed a hold of Mr. Chaskitties leash once more. She and the dog walked back onto the main floor as she made her way to get a drink. Right when she reached the main bar, she felt someone barrel into her, sweeping her off her feet into a tight hug.

"WOWIE! WHEN YOUR NOT DRUNK, YOU REALLY DO SOUND LIKE A PROFESSIONAL! I THOUGHT YOU WERE JUST TALENTED THE OTHER NIGHT, BUT THAT WAS ENTIRELY SOMETHING ELSE. EVEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, IS STUNNED BY THAT PERFORMANCE!" As soon as Papyrus started speaking, _well more like yelling directly into her ear_ , Rose could tell it was him who was keeping her captive in a crushing hug.

"Th-Thanks Papy." Rose responded unsure of what to do. On one hand, she really did love hugs, but on the other, this hug had a high probability of killing her if it continued much longer.

"uhh, papyrus, humans need to breathe," Sans chimed in from somewhere below. _How tall is Papyrus? Sans sounded like he was at least a foot below us!_

"OH MY!" Papyrus seemed to suddenly realize that Rose could hardly breathe in his death grasp and placed her gently onto a barstool. "ARE YOU OKAY? ARE YOU STILL BREATHING?" Papyrus gently poked Rose in the stomach as if checking to see if she was, to which she responded with a ticklish giggle.

"Yes, I'm still breathing you big goof." She responded affectionately. She really couldn't get over how sweet these guys all were.

"HMMM, I'M NOT SO SURE." Papyrus sounded suspiciously sly. Before Rose knew it, he was poking her in the stomach gently repeatedly, and she could only respond by letting out loud giggles and snorts.

"Gosh, PAPS! Hehehe- Paps stop! I'm ticklish there! Hehe!" Tears formed in her eyes from nonstop laughing.

"REALLY, BECAUSE I COULD NOT TELL BY YOUR REACTION." Rose was in shocked stun at his wording. Was Papyrus, a sweet cinnamon roll with extra sugar, being sarcastic towards her?! However, the shock was quickly overtaken by more giggling as a reaction to being tickled.

"S-Sans, someone, save me!" Rose cried out between giggle as she tried to stand up from the stool to escape Papyrus.

"BLUE TO THE RESCUE!" A new voice cried out among the bar-goers, and suddenly Rose felt herself being lifted into another pair of arms. "DON'T WORRY FAIR MAIDEN! THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE HAS RESCUED YOU FROM THE EVIL PAPYRUS AND HIS TICKLING WRATH!" Rose squeaked slightly as she felt herself being jostled in his arms from the sudden movement. Papyrus must've gotten stuck in the crowd because after a moment of him shouting, his voice disappeared.

"Where are you taking me, my hero?" She played along trying to hide her embarrassment of being carried around.

"MWEHEHEH, YOU'LL FIND OUT SOON," Blue answered mysteriously. A moment later, she found herself being placed back on the ground.

"uhh is there a reason yah just carried rose over to me, blue?" Stretch leaned casually against the wall and looked at the small human his brother had practically stolen.

"YES, THE FAIR MAIDEN NEEDS PROTECTION FROM THE EVIL PAPYRUS AND HIS TICKLING WRATH!" When Blue spoke, it sounded as if he was giving some report in the military he was so serious. It took all Rose's will power not to start another laughing fit at his precious response.

"that true?" This time, Stretch seemed to direct his question to Rose herself, to which she gave an affirmative nod. "well, i'm a little too lazy to be any type of sentry, blue can tell yah that, but if yah'd like revenge, i know how to get it." Rose immediately perked back up, letting Stretch know he had her full attention. "gotta get closer. s'a secret." Rose did as she was told and moved closer to his voice. At this point, she was practically chest to chest with him as he leaned down to her ear. She could smell honey and smoke on him thick. It was an odd combination, but oddly pleasing which confused her further. _GAH, why am I smelling him?!_ Rose's face lit up red as she felt his breath roll down her neck. "the secret is... i lied." Rose was about to shoot away from him, but his hands found her waist and he was soon tickling her relentlessly. 

"YOU TRAITOR!" Blue gasped from behind in surprise.

"Heh, I trusted you! Eheh!" Rose tried to squirm away from him but found his grip was too strong. She was about to give up all hope of being saved when she felt someone else's hand reach around her waist. The person who grabbed her pulled her away from the treacherous skeleton and brought her gently against their chest.

"FOR THE LOVE OF ASGORE'S ASS! WOULD YOU ALL STOP FOR A MOMENT TO SEE SHE NEEDS TO GO BACK ON STAGE?!" Rose knew a question, and that was not one. That was a statement. What surprised her more than his harsh tone was the fact that Edge had actually helped her, only now she was blushing brightly as he held her to his chest.

"Uhh, thanks for the help Edge, but you can let go now." She gave him a big smile as he released his grasp around her.

"OH, ERHMM... I-I WAS NOT HELPING YOU! I WAS MERELY GETTING YOU AWAY FROM STRETCH BECAUSE YOU INCESSANT GIGGLES WERE DAMAGING TO MY EARS." Edge was a nice guy! She should've figured, and no amount of him trying to be an angry tsundere was going to trick her into thinking otherwise.

"Of course they were, Edgy~" She cooed back at him before making a dash back towards the stage. Or, it was more like she attempted to dash away, then fell hopelessly on her butt. _Dang it! Where did Mr. Chasekitties end up? I'm gonna be tripping all around if he doesn't come soon!_ Rose slowly stood from her spot on the floor and more carefully made her way to the stage this time. Right as she was about to go to the mic to ask if anyone had seen him, she felt his leash being pressed into her hand.

"noticed that he got left behind at the bar when blue stole you, and not to be _ass_ uming anything, but it looked like you could use him." Sans tone turned slick near the end. He must've seen her fall on her butt.

"Oh my... You saw me fall, didn't you? Ugggh, that's so embarrassing!" She whined pressing her face into her hands.

"don't you mean embarr _ass_ ing?" She could only groan in response.

"Thanks for bringing him back to me though, don't know what'd I do without him." She momentarily brought her head out of her hands to thank him.

"no problem. just being a good friend. good luck in your next song." With that, Rose returned back onto the stage and started the next song soon after. After around three hours of playing with fifteen-minute breaks in between each song, the manager of the bar cleared her and The King's Jester's members to head home if they wanted to. 

She picked up her stuff and took Mr. Chasekitties' leash in hand and began towards where she last heard all the guys. As she was heading there, she felt someone's hand grab onto her shoulder. She turned around with a large smile hoping it was one of the skeletons, but it fell into a grimace when they started speaking.

"Sweetie, that was such a lovely performance!" Rose's mom clasped onto Rose's hands as she spoke. 

"Thanks... How long have you been watching?" Rose didn't remember hearing her mom anywhere during anyone of her many fifteen-minute breaks earlier. It left her curious as to whether or not her mom saw more than two minutes of it.

"Hmm, I'm not quite sure, but that's no matter. Look at my darling!" She cooed. "Such as talented singer." She removed her hands from Rose's and instead started stroking them through Rose's hair. "So lovely too... And, I'm sure your practically filthy rich now. That's every mother's dream, you know; for their own children to do better than them." Her voice sounded almost regretful as she spoke.

"Thanks, mom..." Rose awkwardly shuffled on her feet, to which her mother tutted softly.

"You were never great at taking compliments. Anyway," Her tone suddenly changed to a more friendly sound. "I've been meaning to tell you some great news! Your father and I are moving into Ebott City. We're actually leaving our old house as quickly as we can because Tom seems to have a knack for making enemies of the neighbors, so we don't have anywhere to stay yet, unfortunately... So..." Her mother quieted down near the end, but Rose could pretty much guess what she was going to ask.

"... You need to stay at my place?" She dead toned back trying to reign in her temper.

"Exactly! Listen though, I know this is a bit awkward for us to ask of you, trust me I really do, but we really just had to get out of our old neighborhood. Is there any way you could be understanding with us?" Her mother swayed back and forth gently as she awaited an answer. Rose tucked her hair nervously behind her ear as she tried to think.

"I- I just don't know... Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?" Rose voice threatened to shake whenever she spoke, but she fought to keep it steady.

"Yes, we're staying at this apartment building in town until at least Monday... After that though, we won't have anywhere to stay for at least two weeks. That's when our lease starts with this nice apartment we were checking out.

Rose knitted her eyebrows together in frustration, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything spiteful back. "I g-guess just let me think about it... I'll text you my answer on Sunday..." Rose stood awkwardly as her mother mumbled in agreement and walked away. Rose waited until she knew her mother wouldn't still be near and collapsed into the nearest empty chair. She leaned onto the table and nervously ran her hands through her hair as she thought. _Why the hell did I even agree to think about that?!_ Lost in her own self-loathing, Rose squeaked in surprise when she felt someone tug on her sleeve.

"hey kiddo, you look a little down. is everything okay?" Sans peered at Rose's chest as they talked, unbeknownst to her. He couldn't help but notice how dull her soul looked compared to only a few minutes ago.

"Huh, yeah. I'm good!" Rose perked back up in San's presence. They had already done so much for her. She wasn't about to force him to listen to a long rant about her family.

"if you say so." Sans raised an eyebrow unbelieving at her sudden mood change but decided not to say anything. He knew it had something to do with that woman she was talking to a few moments ago. _just who was she to rose?_ Sans thought to himself.

"Where'd all the other guys go?" Rose quickly questioned in an attempt to change the subject. 

"they're still here, just milling about i guess. we were gonna leave once you got off. thought you may like to walk home with some company." Sans tried to sound casual but was worried he sounded a little too protective of a girl he'd barely known for a full day. 

"You guys are way too good for me." Rose huffed. "I've walked home alone from pretty much all my shows, so if it's just your worried about me walking alone, I'll be fine." She gently bounced her leg as she talked in an attempt to keep her mind from focusing on her earlier conversation.

"well... i'm not going to lie and say that i'm not the slightest bit worried, but a little company is never bad, right?" As Sans finished speaking, the rest of the skeletons approached.

"ARE YOU READY TO GO, ROSE?" Papyrus bounded up to the table as he spoke.

"What, are you guys all in on mission 'Get Rose home safe'?" Rose asked with a sarcastic tone.

"SANS, YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO TELL HER THE MISSION NAME! HOW COULD YOU?!" Blue cried sounding put out. 

"Wait, you actually had assigned yourself a mission called that?" Rose raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"NO?" Papyrus responded back unsure.

"I'm not mad or anything. God, you guys are all just way too sweet for this world. If you're ABSOLUTELY sure that it's really not any trouble." Rose blushed from feeling so fawned over.

"never any trouble for something as cute as you." Rose decided that Red's comment, in particular, did not help the increasing blush on her cheeks. 

"Alrighty!" She practically squeaked out. "Let's go." She immediately began to dart for the door with Mr. Chasekitties in hand as an attempt to escape Red's flirtatious comments. The group began to make their way to Rose's apartment building with Blue and Stretch leading the way from already knowing its location.

"DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER PERFORMANCE TOMORROW?" Blue turned to Rose while they walked down the street.

"I do indeed. Though, the next one will be at a small-ish coffee shop, so not exactly the same fun environment as tonight." Rose yawned gently.

"WAIT, SO IF YOU WORK BOTH SUNDAYS AND SATURDAYS, WHEN IS YOUR BREAK?" Papyrus chimed in from Rose's other side.

"Uhhh," Rose chuckled awkwardly. "I work on most days. I get around one day a month off." She rubbed her hands against her tired eyes. She didn't think about it much, but working as much as she did really was taking a toll on her daily energy.

"OH," Blue sighed sounding troubled. "BREAKS ARE VERY IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW? THEY'RE A VERY GOOD WAY TO REST UP, AND THAT IS NOT TO MENTION THE BENEFITS IT PROVIDES TO YOUR MENTAL HEALTH." He added on wringing his hands nervously.

"Yeah, I know. I just... I just don't really have a choice. It's sorta hard to explain. Anyway," Rose changed the subject rather obviously. "What do all of you guys do for work?"

"BLUE AND I ARE ACTUALLY TRAINING TO JOIN THE HUMAN POLICE FORCE," Papyrus excitedly answered.

"me and sans are both workin' as scientists for one of the labs in ebott university," Stretch added in for himself and Sans.

"I AM THE HEAD CHEF AT THE MTT RESORT!" Edge proclaimed rather proud of himself.

"i'm just a bodyguard, darling. that's cause i'd guard your body anytime~" Red winked, then received a prompt smack from Edge.

"Wow, all of you sound like your so accomplished... or red." Rose remarked sarcastically. 

"ouch, doll. that shit really burns," Red responded with fake hurt while wearing a pleased smile.

"LANGUAGE!" Blue scolded Red. "AAAAAND, TADA! WE ARE HERE," He announced.

"Really though guys, thanks for walking me. It's not every day I can tell people that I was escorted home by my personal skeleguards." Rose smiled fondly at all the boys.

"I'LL GET THE DOOR FOR YOU, ROSE!" Papyrus proceeded to sprint to open the door.

"Thanks, Papy! Bye, everyone." Rose waited for everyone to return her goodbye. She then took a step inside the building before turning back around with a bright grin.

"Really, you guys are all like a bunch of angels," She added before stepping inside, leaving behind a bunch of blushing skeletons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't claim to own the song Ironic in anyway, just using it for my story.
> 
> Feel free to leave comments! Any support, including helpful criticism, is always appreciated.


	4. A Brief Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to see what went down the night Rose ended up crashing at the skele's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too happy about how this chapter turned out, but I really wanted to post it since it was a long weekend and I finally had time to write something. Hope y'all enjoy anyway!

Sans wasn't sure what to think when he met Rose. From his perspective, a human woman, about 5' 1", had just waltzed into a monster bar like it was the most natural thing in the world to her. Even though their goodwill and kindness were preached universally by the ambassador, it would be wrong to say that the monsters held no prejudice against humankind, and these views were often evident in the many exclusively human and exclusively monster bars spread across every major city. So when this delicate, little red-haired woman practically strutted with her dog into Grillby's, a well-known monster exclusive bar, Sans was intrigued if nothing else.

He took a quick glance around himself. The other patrons of the bar seemed likely to throw her out at any minute, and it showed in their magic universally flaring up. However, Sans had already taken a liking to the little spitfire and quickly drowned them out with his own magic as a sign for peace. He watched carefully as her expression morphed for a slight moment, seemingly doubt, before she put on a brave face and sat down next to him. After a minute more of Sans signaling for peace with his magic pressure, the bar resumed a relatively casual atmosphere. He took the next moments to observe the girl and her dog that had led her in.

Getting a good look at her face, he couldn't help but notice the oddly milky color of her pupils. He had never been aware human pupils came in different colors, but he supposed it was possible. Next, he noticed her long crimson-colored hair. He hadn't noticed before, but up close, every strand truly appeared to be its own little flame. Before he knew what happened, he had entranced himself with the small woman and failed to notice when Grillby approached.

"-she want?" Grillby's flames signaled, but Sans only managed to catch the tail end. After a moment in silence, Grillby simply sighed at the lack of an answer and repeated himself, "What drink does she want?" His tone seemed almost playful, and after a moment more, Sans realized Grillby was giving him an odd look about his reaction to the small woman. If a fire could look smug, Grillby had mastered it.

Sans looked back to the woman. She didn't appear to be looking at Grillby, perse, but it was more like she was looking _through_ him. Her expression showed extreme confusion. _has she never seen a fire elemental before?_ Sans wondered to himself.

"grillby is wondering what you want," Sans commented on Grillby's behalf. She seemed to contemplate a moment before responding.

"Uhh, honestly anything strong." She responded with a tired sigh. Her words sounded like a sweet songbird in his ear, singing with a honey-like southern tang. At this point, Sans felt convinced something was wrong with him. He was completely enraptured by this human woman when, previously, many could have called him a speciest towards humans. He decided to brush off the odd feeling she gave him and tried to converse with her instead.

"so, not to be super direct, but i'm curious on whats brought a human into a monster bar. it's not every day we see a human wander in here alone." Sans inquired, but the woman seemed to become utterly lost in his words.

"A monster bar?" She eventually questioned back, tilting her head cutely in confusion.

A dazed, "hmm?" was all Sans could respond with. It was then that he noticed the human didn't seem to be looking at him, but rather, she looked straight forward at some unseen target. He experimentally held up his hand in front of her and waved it. After receiving no reaction, he finally mustered up the courage to ask, "this question will probably sound like a monstrosity, but can you... uhh... can you see?" The girl's eyes widened a bit at the question, but they otherwise remained unmoving.

"No. Blind as a bat." She waved her own hand in front of her face, which Sans couldn't help but find cute.

"ohhhh. that makes more sense. uhh, i wasn't trying to be rude, i swear. i was just curious." Sweat gathered nervously on Sans forehead as he worried he had offended her.

"It's fine, really." She gave a gentle smile back, which oddly put Sans at ease. "Honestly, I'm used to it. Why do you ask though, and what did you mean by a monster bar?"

"well, i was mostly just curious on why you didn't seem startled when you first walked in. i mean that this is normally a bar that monsters come to. humans don't come here often, even less completely alone." When replying, Sans was rather honest about his confusion of the girl's appearance at Grillby's.

"Hey, who said I was alone? I've got the fluffiest companion possible right here. Plus, I normally turn a blind eye to matters of race. Everyone's the same in my eyes," she answered back. Sans could only blink at her as he wondered if the pun was intentional. After a moment of deliberation, he decided it was and let out a genuine laugh.

"dang kid, that one was good. name's sans, sans the skeleton. nice to meet ya." The girl widened her eyes once more and did another cute head tilt in curiosity.

"My name's Rose... Are you actually a skeleton?" He engrained her name in his mind, finding it almost poetically fitting for her appearance. Then, he gave a sly smile and held out his hand.

"shake my hand and you'll see." He prepped his hand with a whoopie cushion and laughed in childish glee when she immediately took up his offer and set the whoopie cushion off. What was even better, her expression turn flabbergasted at the turn of events.

"Was that a whoopie cushion?" She asked him in a straight forward manner while holding back a laugh.

"old whoopie cushion in the hand trick; gets 'em every time." Sans practically bathed in the glory of being responsible for the infectious laugh emitted by Rose once she understood the sound. While the laughter of the two died down, Grillby slid a glass of some brownish tinged alcoholic drink against Rose's hand, and once he did, Rose seemed to get distracted once more by him. "grillbs is a fire elemental, meaning he's basically one big fireball that's shaped vaguely like a human. you wouldn't expect it, but he's hot as hell." Sans winked at her after the pun and was rewarded by another amused laugh.

"Well, that must be some sansational sight if he really is a fire elemental," Rose punned back before letting out another giggle. Meanwhile, Grillby stood behind the bar and watched the pair with a smug demeanor. That was until Sans shooed him away.

"dang kid, are you trying to out pun me?" Sans sent the challenge her way and was pleased once she responded with, "Well, I wasn't before, but I'll be boned if I let you beat me now." Her expression shifted to uncertainty as she added, "You said you were a skeleton, right?" Sans couldn't help but snort at the question, and the pair joked together a few minutes more.

Once the laughing died down, Sans watched with horror as Rose downed the entire drink Grillby had given her in one shot. He figured she must just be a heavy drinker until she almost coughed her lungs up in response to the fiery drink. "woah, go easy on it kid. not trying to pry, but is there a reason you asked grillbs for 'anything strong'? you don't have to say. i'm just a bit of a bonehead sometimes, and get nosey." He worried asking might have offended her, but she quickly responded with a more or less vague answer.

"Yeah. Just a bit a mixture of money and family troubles." She didn't seem intent to say more, and Sans wasn't about to force more out of her. He was just happy she didn't seem to mind being surrounded by monsters, much less his prying question.

"that sucks. i know a thing or two about the family troubles. grillbs treat her to another drink on me." Sans physically shuttered thinking of all the mayhem his new "family" had caused since moving in, Edge in particular. Her drink was quickly replaced, and she just as quickly drank it with a small thanks.

"Dang I'm too much of a lightweight," she commented with a slight slur to her words and her cheeks matching her name. Sans didn't order her any more drinks in worry of getting her way too drunk, but she seemed to waste no time ordering her own. It was many, many puns and drinks later before Grillby cut her off. At this point, the bar was sparse and mostly empty, save for Grillby, Sans, and Rose.

"Whaddya mean I'm cuuut off, Grillbae?" Rose giggled at her own joke, almost falling off her stool in the process.

"grillbs is right. you really have had enough." Sans supported Grillby hoping it wouldn't anger her.

"Ehhhhh... Fair 'nough, I guess. Say, where can a gal find the door outta this place? Should probabably," she stumbled on the word," get home soon. Be seein' you skelly-boy." The second she stood out of her chair, she began to plummet to the ground. If it were not for Sans' quick reflexes and teleportation, she would have hit the wooden floor head first. "Awwwwwee, my skele-knight. Thanks for the save, sweetheart." She gave Sans a pat on the cheek in appreciation as he held her to his chest. The pat on the cheek did not help the intense blue blush growing on his face.

"it's-uh-no problem... damn, if i let you go, you're probably gonna go plummet face-first into the softest thing you can find in the street, won't you?" Sans sighed half-jokingly, half uncertainly.

"Not gonna lie to you, skele-baby. I probabababa... Fuck, words are hard." Sans let out a snort at her drunken frustration. "I probably will." She finally finished.

"...fine, i'll take you home," sans decided. "where do you live?" He prompted the drunken human draped across his arms.

"Mhmm, nope. First thing Papa Archer taught me," She mistakenly held up two fingers, instead of one, to emphasize her point," was never let some strange man take me home. You, my skelly-man, are no exception, no matter how sexy your voice is." Right after she finished, she covered her mouth dramatically. "Ahh, dangit. Did I say that last part?" She asked in a drunken stupor. Needless to say, Sans' face was a bright blue beacon at this point.

"do you even know how to get home right now?" Sans asked with mock disappointment.

"Dat's not the problem, skelly-babe!" She angrily asserted, but Sans could only see her anger comparative to an angry kitten. He contemplated a moment before readjusting her in his arms.

"well, did 'papa archer' say anything about letting a strange man take you to _his_ home? promise, it's not in any creepy way. you just really don't seem to have the capacity to get home safely right now." Sans wasn't sure where the protective side was coming from. He had really only been protective of Papyrus like this so far, but he felt some odd connection to Rose.

"Hmm, you must be a skele-lawyer, because you just found the loop _bone_!" Rose exclaimed with a drunken giggle to follow. "Guess that works. I bet you couldn't tell with how well I can hold my drinks, but I think I'm a little too drunk to get home right now." This time, Rose seemed to be knowingly playing off her drunken state for the sake of the joke, and Sans couldn't help but laugh along. First, he put her back on a stool and teleported Mr. Chasekitties so that Grillby wouldn't be left with him. Then, he took up Rose in his arms again and teleported her.

Sans was able to hold her tight enough to teleport back to his house, but he was faulty in forgetting how her current state may affect the trip for her. Right after the teleport, she immediately pushed out of his arms and barely was able to keep herself from puking on the wooden floor of the kitchen.

"shit! forgot how teleportation messed with the balance on some people!" He quickly retrieved a trashcan and pushed it against her small frame huddle on the ground, but she ignored it and reluctantly took a wobbly stance.

"'M alright." Despite her words, her expression still looked rather disoriented and queasy so Sans offered himself as a balance. Just then, Sans finally noticed the other presences in the kitchen staring him down.

"CARE TO EXPLAIN WHY SOME DRUNK HUMAN GIRL ALMOST PUKED ON MY KITCHEN FLOOR?" Edge questioned sounding a bit on _edge._

"WOWIE! SHE HAS SUCH PRETTY HAIR!" Blue's eyes lit up with bright blue stars as he practically rushed her.

"Uhh, thanks?" Rose nervously responded and leaned into Sans more to escape Blue.

"heh, 'bout that... i don't really have an explanation?" Sans responded with blue sweat forming on his forehead. "she got really drunk, and i didn't think she could get home safely so...." He looked back up at Edge pleadingly.

"SO YOU THOUGHT THE NEXT BEST THING WOULD BE TO BRING HER HERE? I GIVE YOU THE WORLD'S DUMBEST DUMB ASS AWARD. CONGRATULATIONS, YOU EARNED IT." Edge finished for Sans mockingly.

"LANGUAGE!" Blue yelled back. Quickly, Rose grew used to the two's loud _personalities_ , and she stopped hiding in Sans' arms.

"Sorry to be of trouble... I didn't know skele-dude had roommates. I'll just, uh, call a cab?" She responded and tried to walk from Sans' support, only to fall on her butt without anything to stabilize her. "Well, I'm not gonna _fibula_. That was embarrassing." Her cheeks lit up red as she tried to stand and maintain her balance once more, only to be caught by Blue this time.

"EDGE! HORRID PUNS ASIDE, SHE OBVIOUSLY ISN'T FIT TO GO HOME ALONE! IT COULDN'T HURT TO LET HER CRASH ON OUR COUCH. IT COULD BE LIKE A SLEEPOVER," Blue insisted with literal stars in his eyes.

"I like yer thinkin'!" Rose slurred back. "We could sing, like karaoke! Wouldn't that be fun, Sansy?!" At the nickname, Edge gave Sans a dubious look, only for Sans to ignore it with a furious blush.

"yup, super fun, right edge? you wouldn't wanna ruin blue's sleepover, would you? that would be some pretty poor hosting skills..." Sans taunted Edge.

"FUCK YOU! MY HOST SKILLS ARE SUPERB! MS. ROSE, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO ESCORT YOU TO THE LIVING ROOM?" Edge retorts holding out his arm for Rose to take hold. After a moment of Rose proving unresponsive to his gesture, he retracted his arm.

"ohh, uhh... edge was holding out his arm for you to take, rose." Sans narrated trying to hint that Rose couldn't see without outright saying it.

"CAN YOU SEE, MS. ROSE?" Blue bluntly asked in a gentle tone.

"Huh, funny. You're the second person to ask me that tonight." Rose commented in a ditzy manner without answering the question unintentionally. Sans sighed at her lack of an answer and simply nodded to answer for her.

"DON'T WORRY, THEN! SANS CAN TAKE YOU, AND I'LL LEAD YOUR CUTE, DOGGY COMPANION TO THE LIVING ROOM!" With that, Blue picked up Rose and handed her off bridal style to Sans before taking up Mr. Chasekitties' leash.

"Eyyy! I can walk!" Rose struggled in Sans arms, only to give up seconds later. "Actually, I don't think I can," she admitted with a giggle.

"AND I'LL PREPARE SNACKS, LIKE A PROPER HOST," Edge flaunted and began to search through the fridge.

As they walked to the living room, Sans looked over at Blue curiously. "what are you still doing awake anyway, baby blue?"

"OH! EDGE WAS GIVING ME A BAKING LESSON SINCE WE DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO EARLIER THIS WEEK!" Blue practically vibrated in place as he walked Mr. Chasekitties to the livingroom. Upon reaching it, the group was confronted by another curious skeleton.

"nyeh? blue, why's sans carrying a... drunk? human girl bridal style into our living room?" Stretch stood from the couch once he understood Sans intended to set her down on it.

"SHE GOT VERY DRUNK, AND SANS DIDN'T THINK SHE COULD MAKE IT HOME SAFE. THAT'S AS MUCH AS I KNOW," Blue reported as he bent down to pet Mr. Chasekitties.

"...and the dog?" Stretch questioned.

"HER SEEING EYE DOG! AT LEAST, I THINK HE IS. I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT BLIND HUMANS IN ALL HONESTY." Sans gave an affirmative nod to Blue's assumption as he placed Rose on the couch.

"that's a lot to take in?" Stretch's eyebrow pinched downward in confusion. Meanwhile, Rose struggled to sit herself up on the couch.

"Sooo, when we gonna do that karaoke, Baby Blue?" She copied the nickname Sans had given Blue, much to Blue's embarrassment.

"RIGHT AWAY! MWEHEHEH! SLEEPOVERS ARE THE BEST!" Blue rampaged through the living room as he tried to find all the necessary things for karaoke.

"well, this night has certainly taken an interesting turn of events..." Stretch commented while watching Blue run to and from random spots in the living room.

"the fuck is all the racket down here?" Right as Blue finally finished gathering all the items needed for karaoke, Red emerged from the stairwell leading to the second floor. Once he reached the living room, he teleported to Rose's side. "and who's the hotty?" He practically purred the second part. Rose jumped a little at his sudden closeness, but otherwise, she didn't seem to mind.

"Name's Rose, Rose Archer, but you can just call me Rose." She faked a random official-sounding accent, then giggled at her own silliness.

"and she's drunk too, even better." Red placed his arm around her and laid back on the couch. "couldn't have asked for a better end to my day." Rose seemed relatively indifferent to his advances. Blue sighed at Red's behavior but made no moves to correct it.

"WE WERE ACTUALLY ABOUT TO KARAOKE. WOULD YOU WANT TO JOIN, RED?" Blue invited out of courtesy, not an actual want for him to join.

"nah, but i'd love to watch doll here sing." He purred out.

"okay, i can accept blue's behavior, because that's just how he is, but how come red's all lovey-dovey? don't say it's just cause she's hot. you're never this friendly with humans." Stretch gave Red a puzzled look, only for Red to return it.

"really? you guys have no clue, and you're supposed to be the sweet, feelings bullshit universes?" By this point, the entire room, save for Rose in her drunken stupor, was looking at Red like he'd grown a second head. "holy shit! ha! i can't believe you guys can't tell, especially since your universes are so much more emotional-ly." Red seemed pretty smug in the information he held.

"care to clue us in?" Stretch questioned with his arms crossed.

"ehh, why not? but, we should probably discuss this away from human ears." Red shrugged and stood to make his way to the kitchen.

"Wahh? I wanna know!" Rose pouted like a child. She attempted to stand and follow the crowd, only to fall back on the couch. "I guess I'll just stay here." She whined childishly.

As everyone reconvened in the kitchen, Red crossed his arms and eyed the rest of his and his brother's doppelgangers. "i really can't believe you guys couldn't tell, 'specially with your universes," he repeated smugly.

"WHAT'S ALL THIS ABOUT?" Edge eyed the rest curiously as he prepped snacks on the counter.

"they can't tell the little lady in there is their soulmate," Red responded plainly, almost sounding bored.

"WHAT?" Blue's eyes dilated to pricks in confusion.

"like i said, she's your soulmate, baby blue. same with me and sans." Red watched all their reactions curiously.

"SAME FOR ALL THE PAPYRUSES," Edge added in.

"really? huh, that uncommon, but i guess not heard of." Red responded.

"okay, what in stars name are you two going on about?" Stretch gave them both doubtful looks. Meanwhile, Sans stayed quiet in the corner of the kitchen.

"look, i don't know the case in your universes, but in ours, mine and edge's, we're taught to recognize soulmates from a young age. it's wasn't unheard of for your soulmate to die before you even met them, so it was crucial to be able to recognize them quickly. trust me when i say that i know she's our soulmate. you do all know what soulmates are, right?" Red asked in a patronizing tone.

"yes, we all know what they are. why the hell do you think that little human in there is _all_ of ours?" Stretch grimaced.

"HE'S NOT WRONG. SHE'S MOST DEFINITELY A SOULMATE OF MINE, AND I BELIEVE HE IS HER'S AS WELL IF RED SAYS SO." Edge agreed with his brother.

"and if she's mine and edges soulmate, and all of us have matching souls respectively, then..." Red paused to let them draw their own conclusion.

"i don't think he's wrong..." Sans agreed almost reluctantly. "i didn't think about it before, but she does follow all the signs of being a soulmate." He added sounding surer of himself.

"bingo. i guess if we weren't all here, she would only be the vanillas' soulmate. weirdly, she would have had two soulmates, but that's not impossible."

The rest of the room then fell into silence as they thought. "SO," Blue broke the silence, "ARE WE GOING TO TELL HER?"

Stretch peered from the group to the kitchen door before shaking his head decidedly. "probably not for the best, bro. even if she did remember something from tonight, and that's a big if, not a lot has been released to the humans about magic. she's not gonna be able to understand the concept of soulmates without just thinking we're being creepy." The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

"you're not wrong," Sans added deep in thought. "shame paps is working a late shift tonight. guess we'll just have to catch him up when he gets home..." Sans added sounding disappointed.

"SO, WE'RE JUST GOING TO GO ON AS IF THIS LITTLE CHAT NEVER HAPPENED?" Blue practically deflated as he spoke.

"'s for the best. like your bro said, if we try to tell her while she barely knows us, we may get hit with a restraining order or some shit. that's the last thing i want." Right as Red finished speaking, the intro music to [Life is a Highway](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3sMjm9Eloo) could be heard from the living room. The entire group ventured to the door separating the living room from the kitchen and watched Rose curiously.

"Y'all are taking too long!" Rose called in no particular direction. "Sing with me, if you're man." She added before jumping into the song.

"Life's like a road that you travel on  
When there's one day- Ah dangit." As Rose sang, she had tried to stand but ended up falling onto her butt. "Something... something" She mumbled trying to remember the lyrics. "Oh yeah, I remember this part!" She called out excitedly before jumping back into the song.  
"There's a world outside every darkened door  
Where blues won't haunt you anymore  
Where brave are free and lovers soar  
Come ride with me to the distant shore."  
Rose bopped in place happily on the floor as she sang.

There were varying reactions from the skeletons. Sans smirked in amusement along with Red. Blue ran full throttle into the living to presumably join her, soon followed by a laughing Stretch. Meanwhile, Edge rolled his eyes in annoyance and mumbled, "She's A Bit Of A Brat, Isn't She?" He said this before taking a seat in the living room's love seat and pulling out a crossword puzzle.

"We won't hesitate- Huh?" Rose's expression turned confused as Blue picked her up off the ground and let her lean on him.

"I WAS GOING TO SING WITH YOU!" Blue kept a steady hand around Rose's waist while she wrapped her own arm around him in comradery.

"Yay!" She giggled before jumping back into the chorus with Blue.

"Life is a highway  
I wanna ride it all night long  
If you're going my way  
I wanna drive it all night long!"

The two sang together while Blue paraded her around the living room in glee. Stretch pulled out his phone and began recording their performance.

"Through all these cities and all these towns  
It's in my blood, and it's all around  
I love you now like I loved you then  
This is the road, and these are the hands  
From Mozambique to those Memphis nights  
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights  
Knock me down and back up again  
You're in my blood; I'm not a lonely man  
There's no load I can't hold  
A road so rough this I know  
I'll be there when the light comes in  
Tell 'em we're survivors."

While they walked about the living room, Mr. Chasekitties paced around them howling along in excitement every now and then.

"Life is a highway  
I wanna ride it all night long  
If you're going my way  
I wanna drive it all night long  
Life is a highway  
I wanna ride it all night long  
If you're going my way  
I wanna drive it all night long"

This time when they sang the chorus, Stretch joined in from his spot on the couch sounding thoroughly amused.

"There was a distance between you and I  
A misunderstanding once  
But now we look in the eye  
There ain't no load that I can't hold  
A road so rough this I know  
I'll be there when the light comes in  
Tell 'em we're survivors"

Edge kept his gaze on his crossword puzzle like he didn't care but was betrayed by a small smirk that had settled on his face.

"Life is a highway  
I wanna ride it all night long  
If you're going my way  
I wanna drive it all night long  
Life is a highway  
I wanna ride it all night long  
If you're going my way  
I wanna drive it all night long  
Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, yeah  
Life is a highway  
I wanna ride it all night long  
If you're going my way  
I wanna drive it all night long!"

Blue and Rose finished out together, followed by a chorus of laughter from various skeletons.

"Wowza, Blue! You're a good singer!" Rose complimented the skeleton that kept her upright throughout the song.

"TH-THANKYOU, MS. ROSE!" Blue stuttered as his cheeks lit up. "YOU'RE GOOD AS WELL." He spoke more confidently this time. The group continued joking and singing for an hour or so more before Papyrus got home. He had the chance to sing one more song with Rose and Blue before Rose promptly passed out on the couch and was covered with ridiculously fluffy blankets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternately titled: The One in Which You Find Out I Use the Soulmate AU To Get Around Plot Holes! As always, feel free to comment with helpful criticism/whatever you want. I always try to respond to them.


End file.
